Surface test Pro 8: Microsoft refines its hybrid pc and flagship product

Surface test Go 3: What is the new version of Microsoft's tiny PC worth?

Eric LE BOURLOUT | Rédacteur en chefà suivre sur Eric LE BOURLOUT sur Google + Eric LE BOURLOUT par email

Les fondamentaux ne changent pas, mais cette nouvelle tablette s’offre un design revu et un processeur Intel de 11^ème génération.A successful iteration… if we adhere to the concept and we have a well -filled portfolio.

01net's opinion.Com Microsoft Surface Pro 8

MostThe lessers Writing note

4

Note publiée le 26/01/2022

Performance

4,5/5

Mobility

4/5

Display

3/5

Autonomy

3/5

General appreciation

3,5/5Voir la fiche technique Voir le verdict

After the Go 3 surface, a few weeks ago, it is the turn of the pro 8 surface to go through the 01net lab.It is a more important product for Microsoft, spearhead of the range and direct heir to the product inaugurated in 2012.For this 2021/2022 version, the Panay teams Panay put the small dishes in large ones to improve the large tablet of Microsoft.

It starts with a light but clearly visible redesign of design.The pro 8 surface significantly retains the dimensions of the previous model, but offers a more comfortable screen, which goes from 12.3 to 13 inches, with a definition of 2880 x 1920 pixels, and a ratio of 3: 2.Microsoft has largely cropped on the edges to get there, which offers the tablet a much more modern appearance.A regret: the machine has gained a little weight in passing, going to 890 grams, against 775 or 790 g (depending on the processor) for the surface pro 7.Nothing too bad, and this meager difference absolutely does not feel in a bag.

Another important novelty: connection evolves.The USB-A port disappears in favor of two USB-C, compatible Thunderbolt 4.Good news because Microsoft has long shunned this technology, probably to favor its owner interface Surface Connect (still present, especially to load the tablet).We can however find a classic USB port on the device charger.Note that it is also possible to recharge the Pro 8 surface from a USB-C port.

Beyond these notable changes, pro surface remains pro surface, a PC made with care, with impeccable finishes.The only shadow on the board may be its keyboard, whose plastic always seems a little "cheap" compared to the noble materials of the device itself in itself.We will come back.

A larger screen, which sins with an average brightness

Has this transition to a new screen been beneficial?According to our lab measures, there is good...and less good.First, what is fine: colorimetry.We measured a 2,59 Delta E 2000.A great performance, which will provide you with excellent color fidelity.On the other hand, the slab suffers with relatively low brightness, with a calculated average of 401 cd/m2.That is to say little annoying indoors, but that could ask you some problems if you are led to use the device a lot outside, in full sun.As for the contrast, which we measured at 1153: 1, it is far from exceptional, and well below the average of computers in the same category that we have tested recently.

Finally, and this is a novelty in the surface range, the slab is capable of a cooling rate of 120 Hz, even if, by default, it remains blocked at 60 Hz in order to keep the autonomy (not famous, seeBelow) of the device.The switch to 120 Hz provides well -visible additional comfort: Windows animations, just as moving the cursor are much more fluid and pleasant to the eye.But we regret having to choose!We would have liked a more elegant solution, like promotion - which equips the most recent MacBook Pro - and which intelligently vary the rate of refreshment of the screen according to your needs.

Ergonomics

Surface has always been a product apart in the PC universe.Originally launched to compete with the iPad, it is always sold as a tablet by Microsoft.In other words, its typing type keyboard is only an accessory, which must be purchased in addition to have a real PC experience.But does the pro surface have an interest without it?For some applications, perhaps, but the vast majority of users add this keyboard and possibly a stylus, which has also been modernized for this generation.It is therefore with these accessories that we judge the product, not the tablet alone

We will suddenly once again put a bad point to Microsoft on this subject.The surface accessories are far too expensive!The new "signature" keyboard, which includes a clever location to store and recharge the stylus, thus costs 180 euros, which will therefore be necessary to add to the price of already expensive equipment.If you also want to acquire the new Slim Pen stylus, you will also have to spend 129 euros.Or around 300 euros additional in total (even if Microsoft is making a small discount on his site, right now).This is all the more problematic that loyal customers are for their expense: old keyboards are not compatible with the Pro 8 surface, which has a different connector.

That said, Microsoft has done an excellent job from the point of view of general ergonomics, even if surface, by its very design, retains a defect which can be prohibitive for some and which must once be remembered: this n'is not a very comfortable computer to use placed on the knees.The foot is then difficult to settle, and the whole lack of stability.Notice to those who, like us, often work in this position ...

The fact remains that from the strict point of view of the comfort of use, surface pro 8 is a great success.Yes, as we said above, the keyboard is a bit cheap, despite its Alcantara coating.The plastic of the keys does not help, and its extreme finesse gives the impression that it can be damaged in the long run.On the other hand, it is a real pleasure to write with.The keys have an ideal race, they fall perfectly under their fingers, and offer a satisfactory sound.An almost perfect keyboard, which has the only defect (besides its price!) A trackpad a little too narrow and with an unsatisfactory click.

We also appreciate the general responsiveness of the device.The integrated facial recognition system is diabolical efficiency, and it only takes a few moments at a standby outlet, for example by unfolding the keyboard, to access the Windows 11 office.Convenient.

Microsoft a aussi fourni un petit effort du point de vue des capteurs photo et vidéo. La webcam intégrée filme toujours en 1080p, et s’est avérée excellente en visioconférence, y compris avec des conditions lumineuses peu favorables.

But the Pro 8 surface also has a new 10mpix sensor at the rear, against eight before.However, it will not clearly replace the camera of your smartphone: the focus is awfully slow, the shots it produces are not very detailed and offer lavassus colors ... It can however be useful to quickly scan a document, orRecord a video conference.

An excellent stylus!

The new refined stylus (Slim Pen 2, as an option, therefore) will not necessarily interest all users.But the creatives or the fans of handwriting should in any case try it, because in our eyes a frank success.First of all because Microsoft has finally found a rather elegant solution to the eternal problem of its storage, with this space located in the Cover type.He comes to slip into it by magnetization, and recharges his-fil.No more risk of leaving it!

Then because it is really effective, whether it is to write, work on a whiteboard or draw.We would certainly have preferred a perfectly round stylus, which would have been more comfortable in the long term.But Microsoft's experience in handwrite is quickly forgotten this ergonomic defect menu.The Slim Pen 2 responds perfectly to all the stresses.Better, it is precise, and even fun to use.Its point retracts slightly in contact with the screen, which gives it a real pencil feeling, a sensation amplified by the small haptic engine which vibrates (very slightly!) In contact with the screen.And if you have written stupidity, just turn it over to use the gum function.It is frankly amazing and better damaged still than the Apple Pencil on iPad, which is just as precise, but more rigid, and therefore less natural for use.

Performance et autonomie

Première chose à savoir : la machine que nous avons eue entre les mains est un modèle haut de gamme, bâti autour d’un Core i7 de 11^ème génération (1185G7), de 16 Go de Ram et de 256 Go de SSD.A PC that still costs 1979 euros (without accessories!).The performance of cheaper models will therefore be lower than those we mention here.We do not recommend that you opt for a configuration that has only 8 GB of RAM.For a machine of this caliber, 16 GB seem to us to be a strict minimum.

As can be seen in the above graph, which synthesizes the results of the various PC Mark benchings, the surface pro 8 is more well faced with eminent competitors also launched in 2021.Especially in the fields of content creation and 3D.In fact, it is a machine that will accompany you without any problem for most of the tasks that you will entrust to it, even of creation, or even a little bit of game.Thank you the eleventh generation of Intel processors and especially the XE IRIS, who has really done good to ultraportable PCs from this point of view.Very appreciable performances, especially since the PC ensures without ever ventilating or heating too much, despite its reduced size.

Unfortunately, the very average performance of the computer in terms of autonomy come to spoil the party.The surface pro 8 has indeed held 8:15 in our versatile autonomy test, which imitates the current uses of a computer.

It is not catastrophic, but under the average of PCs of the same kind and far, very far from the sixteen hours promised by Microsoft.Unsurprisingly, the 6.45 am noted during our video reading autonomy test fail to raise the bar.

We will console ourselves thinking of recharge, which is rather fast, on the other hand, with 2h08 to go from 0 to 100 % battery.

Microsoft Surface Pro 8 technical sheet

Processeur	Intel Core i7-1185G7
Mémoire vive (RAM)	16 Go
Capacité de stockage principal	256 Go
Taille d'écran	13 "
Puce graphique	Intel Iris Xe

Voir la fiche complète

Most

The lessers

The verdict of the test

Microsoft Surface Pro 8

Microsoft offers a nice update to its flagship hybrid PC, and the transition to a larger slab, with finer edges, is appreciable ... especially since the device is not more bulky than before.The pro 8 surface is easy to transport, discreet in your bag, lights up in an instant and offers very satisfactory performance, thanks to the passage to the 11ᵉ generation of Intel processors.Too bad, on the other hand, that the autonomy of the device is very far from what Microsoft promises: difficult to hold a whole day of work far from a catch!

The new Cover type keyboard and the Slim Pen stylus form an unstoppable duo: on the one hand, an excellent strike, on the other, perhaps the best handwriting solution on computer, well integrated into Microsoft software.Difficult to do better, if you see the use of it.But these technologies are very expensive, and this is in our opinion the main defect of the device.If you do not have an imperative need for refinements of a surface (neat design, handwriting, tablet mode, etc.), you will easily find PCs with similar configuration...In addition, if you favor tablet use, Apple and its iPads offer better quality/price ratio and incomparably higher software offer.

Writing note

3.8 /5

Performance

4,5/5

Mobility

4/5

Display

3/5

Autonomy

3/5

General appreciation

3,5/5

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